The Ideal Evildoer To tell a story, one must have conflict. Struggles between humans and nature, circumstance, or vice are all the stuff of great tales, but more often stories revolve around clashes between individuals. It is from this brand of conflict which the villain emerges. Unfortunately, in most RPG adventures, the villain becomes a mere target for the player characters. Flat and uninteresting, the villain's only purpose is to be annihilated so that the PCs can gain victory and glory. Such triumphs are hollow, however, for destroying such a trivial menace provides little satisfaction. Many GMs attempt to compensate for this ho-hum attitude by introducing more powerful bad guys for the heros to thwart, but in the end these greater miscreants are just as uninteresting and shallow as their lesser counterparts. The key to creating a memorable villain is careful planning. Just as heroes should be crafted so as to be more than just walking sets of statistics, so should their major opponents. After all, the deeds of the evildoers set the stage for the heroics of the PCs, and thus the mood and interest of the entire campaign. Objectives Since the primary purpose of any villain is to provide a problem which the heroes must resolve, the best way to start designing your villain is to decide upon their objectives. Their goals may be large or small, short or long term, but whatever dark deeds they wish to accomplish should ideally work directly against the interests of the PCs. For example, if the villain wishes to ransom the kidnapped daughter of a king the characters do not know, then the adventurers will have to be artificially involved in the scenario. They could be hired by the king to rescue his daughter, but would a monarch really employ the typical band of PCs? Considering the rough appearance, shady backgrounds, and uncertain reputations of most characters, it seems rather implausible that a king would use them instead of his knights, lawmen, and personal agents. On the other hand, if one of the PCs is in love with the kidnapped princess, or happens to be a close friend of the king, then their involvement becomes more plausible. In addition, the players will feel that there is more on the line for their characters than mere monetary gain, and thus roleplay with far more enthusiasm. When coming up with the designs of the villain, also keep in mind the abilities and personalities of the heroes. It is no good creating an elaborate plot to corrupt a kingdom's rulership if the PCs have no contacts with, or interest in, such political matters. Try to keep matters within the normal domain of the adventures, and players will show far more interest. Motivation Once you have determined exactly what terrible scheme your malefactors have hatched, the next step is to determine why they came up with it in the first place. The deeper and more numerous the reasons, the more interesting a nemesis you will create for the PCs. Going back to the example of the kidnapped Princess, we can see an obvious motivation of material gain on the part of the villain. However, kidnapping a Princess is no easy matter, and if the villain had the means to do that, why not steal the crown jewels instead? They would, after all, be far easier to convert into currency. Considering this, it is clear that a greater motivation is required. If the villain feels that he was wronged by the king in the past, his reasons become more defined. Perhaps the villain had a son or daughter who was convicted of a crime and executed by the monarch. In that case the ransom may come as a point of vengeance. Likewise, the villain's love could have been spurned by the Princess, thus driving him to kidnap her out of a sense of jealousy and betrayal. There are many possibilities, including combinations of several separate motivations. Consider these carefully, and weigh the difficulties the villain must face against the magnitude of his rewards. If either seem inadequate, adjust them accordingly. Justification Like most people, villains do not like to feel evil or despicable. Quite often they will justify their actions to soothe their consciences and bolster their esteem. Though this may not sound very villain-like, consider the following scenario: The PCs are investigating the disappearance of some stolen jewels and discover that somebody has recently donated several of the gems to an orphanage. At the orphanage they learn the identity of the individual that made the donation, and recognize the name as being that of an infamous master thief. By having the evildoer leave a portion of her ill-gotten gains to a charity, the GM accomplishes two goals: the first is to provide the PCs with a way of locating and retrieving the stolen jewels, and the second is to give the rogue a sense of realism, in that she is trying to justify her crimes to herself by distributing some of her wealth to the needy. Such villains, though criminal in nature, are far more memorable than purely immoral ones. The players can recognize them as having some sense of compassion and justice, and thus relate to them in a more significant way. Utterly diabolical villains have their place as well, but it is wise to make a point of having at least some of your evildoers mindful of their crimes. Otherwise the players will become desensitized to true evil, and not feel the impact of it when their PCs cross swords with the villain. Allies and Power At this point in the creation process, you should be aware of what your villain is doing, why he is doing it, how he is dealing with his guilt. The next step is to figure out exactly what powers and influences they have to defend themselves from the PCs. When considering this issue, be aware that power is far more than how physically imposing the evildoer may be, or how many weapons and magical items they may possess. Truly dangerous villains have little need of any of these, but instead rely upon the power of their henchmen and social influences. Henchmen serve an important function in any RPG module in two ways: the first is that they can be killed by the PCs without risk of ruining the storyline or ending the adventure in an anti-climatic fashion. The second is that they provide the GM with a way of challenging the PCs without having to resort to a single "super villain". As most villains tend to be the driving intellectual force behind their evil deeds, the presence of henchmen makes sense. Would a diabolical sorceress put in the several years of daily sword practice it would take to match a band of heroes, when she could easily hire several proficient mercenaries instead? In addition, henchmen allow the villain to make their presence felt in many areas at once. While they are working on the dark spell that will enslave the inhabitants of a kingdom, their servitors can be battling the PCs in a far distant village. More dangerous than hired thugs, however, are the often overlooked social powers that evildoers can possess. By spreading false rumors about the PCs, hanging up counterfeit Wanted posters bearing their likeness, and misinforming dutiful agents of law enforcement, a villain can throw any number of obstacles into the path of the heroes. Worse yet, the characters lose the option of using lethal force to defend themselves. If they cut down a mistaken yet lawful city guard, then they themselves become villains, and the miscreant they are pursuing wins a major victory. Conclusion By taking the time to make real villains, the GM can form the basis for endless adventures. A colorful and intelligent nemesis can appear many times over, each time evading capture after their evil plot is foiled. In time the PCs will come to know their adversary well. By gaining familiarity with the villain's methods, motivations, justifications, and servants, they will yearn to match wits with them again and again. The result is a action-filled and memorable campaign, composed of adventures that challenge more than just the PCs' swordsmanship. Back to Shadis #23 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1996 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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